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☆ About 42% of US adults know someone who died by overdose, new survey finds
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-21 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

“Lately, there’s been so many overdose deaths that were inadvertent. She applauded the new RAND survey for shedding light on what adults go through when they lose someone to overdose. “Those are some of the regions where we see the highest number of overdose deaths. This is also rarely discussed in scientific and policy circles,” Pollini said of the RAND survey. “Because the data come from a survey of adults, the study does not provide insight into how overdose deaths impact children.

Persons: Gail D’Onofrio, D’Onofrio, “, there’s, ” D’Onofrio, ”, Alison Athey, Athey, Kerry Nolte, ” Nolte, Nolte, “ I’ve, I’ve, Kurt Kleinschmidt, it’s, Kleinschmidt, ” Kleinschmidt, ” Robin Pollini, –, ” Pollini, Dr, Sanjay Gupta Organizations: CNN, RAND Corporation, Yale School of Medicine, Yale New Haven Hospital, RAND, University of New, East South, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, West Virginia University, US Centers for Disease Control, Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, CNN Health Locations: United States, Connecticut, University of New Hampshire, New England, East South Central, Alabama, Kentucky , Mississippi, Tennessee

☆ The problem with labor data in understanding inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-10 | by ( Bryan Mena | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The central bank will continue to pay close attention to the state of the labor market, specifically on wages, as it focuses on defeating inflation, but there’s only so much that labor data can reveal about price increases. Mainly, it’s that wage figures are great at gauging inflation’s progress, but they’re lousy at forecasting its future. Financial markets have shifted back to a “bad news is good news” way of perceiving economic data and will continue to react to labor data, but ultimately, it’s the actual inflation data that matter most to the Fed. The issue of labor figures in forecasting inflation lies with productivity data. The Federal Reserve releases August data on industrial production.

Persons: Austan Goolsbee, Raphael Bostic, ”, Quincy Krosby, ” Agron Nicaj, it’s, Anna Cooban, ” James Athey Organizations: CNN Business, Bell, DC CNN, Federal Reserve, Fed, Chicago Fed, Bloomberg, Atlanta Fed, Financial, LPL Financial, CNN, Oracle, National Federation of Independent Business, National Statistics, US Labor Department, Adobe, European Central Bank, US Commerce Department, China’s National Bureau of Statistics, Lennar Homes, The University of Michigan Locations: Washington, Saudi Arabia

☆ The US dollar is king again. Here’s why
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Anna Cooban | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN —The US dollar is enjoying its longest winning streak in nearly nine years. The rally comes after months of volatility, fueled by concerns that the dollar may be losing its status as the world’s reserve currency. “Rumors of the US dollar’s demise continue to be greatly exaggerated,” James Athey, investment director at Abrdn, an asset manager, told CNN. Higher interest rates tend to boost the value of a country’s currency by attracting more foreign capital, as investors anticipate making bigger returns. “The US economy continues to surprise to the upside,” Carsten Brzeski, global head of macroeconomic research at ING, told CNN.

Persons: ” James Athey, ” Athey, ” Carsten Brzeski, ” Brzeski, Russ Mould, AJ Bell, Athanasios Vamvakidis, Sheldon Cooper, “, ” Alex Cohen Organizations: London CNN, CNN, Federal Reserve, ING, US Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Bank of America Global Research, People’s Bank of Locations: Saudi Arabia, United States, China, Europe, Germany, Russia, People’s Bank of China

☆ Google targets DOJ antitrust chief with bias allegations in monopoly defense
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-31 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Google went on the offensive Thursday in a closely watched antitrust case dealing with the tech giant’s digital advertising dominance, questioning the motives of the Justice Department’s top antitrust official. Google’s filing targets Jonathan Kanter, the US assistant attorney general for antitrust, and his widely reported past legal representation of Google-parent Alphabet’s corporate rivals, such as Microsoft, Yelp and News Corp, among others. Google’s attorneys argue that Kanter’s past clients create an ethical conflict and should raise doubts about the US government’s overall lawsuit. They also cited evidence in the case that, prior to joining DOJ, Kanter lobbied in a personal capacity for the agency to pursue an antitrust case against Google. The Biden administration has sought to limit the scope of discovery to prevent Google from gathering evidence about Kanter’s advocacy, according to Thursday’s filing.

Persons: Jonathan Kanter, Kanter, AAG Kanter, Susan Athey, Athey, Biden, Trump, Leonie Brinkema, Judge Brinkema Organizations: CNN, Google, Microsoft, News Corp, DOJ, Justice, Stanford, Court, Eastern, of, US Locations: Alexandria , Virginia, United States, of Virginia, Manhattan, Virginia

☆ Investors manoeuvre, warily, for long-shot BOJ policy move
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Kevin Buckland | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

SLOWLY, STEADILYBOJ sources say the central bank is leaning towards keeping its yield control policy unchanged as policymakers wait for data to affirm wages and inflation will keep rising. The benchmark 10-year JGB yield also retreated to 0.445% from as high as 0.485%. "We don't short the JGB market. In part, it's an expensive thing to do - as you know, the Bank of Japan owns 110% of the 10-year JGB market," he said. "Nobody's calling for them to hike aggressively, just bringing some function back to the JGB market, allowing themselves to step away because the data has given them an opportunity to do so.

Persons: Jimmy Lim, Lim, Kazuo Ueda, Nigel Foo, Haruhiko Kuroda, Jim Leaviss, Leaviss, Michael Michaelides, Ales Koutny, James Athey, Athey, Kevin Buckland, Ankur Banerjee, Summer Zhen, Alun John, Divya Chowdhury, Harry Robertson, Vidya Ranganathan, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Bank of Japan, Management, ING, Investors, G Investments, Vanguard, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Singapore, FSI, abrdn

Deutsche Bank's emerging market carry strategy index had its best year on record in the 12 months to May. Reuters GraphicsOVERCROWDING FEARSInvestors, however, are becoming concerned the carry trade might be becoming too popular for its own good. "You have to be worried about some of these more crowded positions," said Stephen Gallo, European head of FX strategy at BMO Capital Markets. "I think that is big enough to offset any carry trade income," said Yujiro Goto, head of FX strategy for Japan at Nomura. A hypothetical $50,000 invested in a short Norwegian crown, long dollar carry trade in the first three weeks of July would have lost $3,000, according to Refinitiv.

Persons: Refinitiv, Kamakshya Trivedi, Goldman Sachs, Stephen Gallo, Gallo, James Athey, Yujiro Goto, Oliver Brennan, Brennan, Robin Winkler, Goldman's Trivedi, Geoff Yu, BNY Mellon, Harry Robertson, Alun John, Ankur, Rae Wee, Bernadette Baum Organizations: LONDON, Bank of America, FX, Deutsche, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank and Bank of Japan, BMO Capital Markets, Nomura, BNP Paribas, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, Reuters Graphics, Federal, Deutsche Bank, Swiss, Reuters, Korean, BNY, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Japan, European, U.S, America, Asia, London, Singapore

The S&P 500 banks index (.SPXBK) dropped 6.6% on Thursday and was set to open lower again on Friday. The crisis at SVG was feeding growing investor concerns that banks will be vulnerable to the rising cost of money. In an unusual step, Commerzbank, one of Germany's largest banks, issued a statement, playing down any threat from SVB, saying it did not see "a corresponding risk for us". "The market is treating this as a potential contagion risk," said Antoine Bouvet, senior rates strategist at ING in London. A spike in interest rates has led to a sell-off in bonds, leaving banks exposed to potential losses on the securities they hold.

☆ Analysis: Japan's yen feels the heat from hard-line BOJ policy
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( Rae Wee | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Speculators have looked instead to the yen, an easier target where their bets on BOJ policy have induced massive swings and historic levels of volatility. BIGGER YEN BETSAnalysts expect bets on the BOJ soon abandoning its yield curve control policy will get bigger and louder, for a number of reasons. James Athey, an investment director at fund manager abrdn, has held a long position on the yen for a while. We had a significant overweight on the Japanese yen, (and) in the aftermath, we took profit on some of our yen position," Athey said. "The debate around the future of BOJ policy is far from settled," said Howard Smith, partner and portfolio manager at Indus Japan Strategies.

That could support a rally in 10-year Treasury bonds and help stocks extend their recent gains, they said. "I think the markets are rallying at the prospect of gridlock," said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Cresset Capital in Chicago. Historically, stocks have tended to do better under a split government when a Democrat is in the White House, with investors attributing some of that performance to political gridlock that prevents major policy changes. The benchmark index has risen about 5% over the last month, cutting its year-to-date decline to about 20%. With U.S. equity options market positioned for relative calm, a surprisingly strong showing by Democrats could upend markets.

☆ 'Unloved, undervalued' UK stocks back in focus on Rishi Sunak stability hopes
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Britain's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak walks past Larry the cat outside Downing Street, in London, Britain, October 25, 2022. "The fact that we have Rishi Sunak as prime minister is definitely calming on markets. We believe that it is under owned, it's unloved, undervalued, and there is some upside from here." Sunak in his inaugural speech outside Downing Street on Tuesday stressed the importance of "economic stability and confidence" while warning of "difficult decisions to come." Central to the potential stability narrative, as far as U.K. markets are concerned, is the assumption that the central bank will now be less aggressive in raising interest rates.

☆ Pound holds ground as Rishi Sunak leads race to become UK prime minister
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

London CNN Business —Britain’s third prime minister in seven weeks will face the huge challenge of projecting stability after a period of historic political and financial market chaos. Rishi Sunak emerged over the weekend as the clear front-runner in the dramatic race to replace Liz Truss, who’s set to be the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history. “A key focus for the next Prime Minister and their chosen Chancellor needs to be fiscal responsibility,” Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said in a statement. An economy in recessionThe Bank of England forecast last month that the UK economy was already in recession. 10 Downing Street, investors and economists expect the revamped economic plan outlined by current finance minister Jeremy Hunt to remain intact.

☆ Lurking behind Britain’s political mess is an economy on the edge
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-21 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

London CNN Business —The spectacle surrounding Liz Truss, who on Thursday secured her fate as the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history, has quickly given way to a frenetic race to determine who will replace her. 10 Downing Street next will inherit an economic mess with no easy fixes. “A key focus for the next Prime Minister and their chosen Chancellor needs to be fiscal responsibility,” Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, said in a statement on Friday. An economy in recessionEconomists agree that if the United Kingdom isn’t already in recession, one is likely to arrive soon. The cost of uncertaintyTruss has said the Conservative Party will install a new prime minister within a week.

☆ Analysis: The UK just stepped back from the brink. But there's more trouble ahead
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

The sudden reversal of almost all tax cuts announced just three weeks ago could put financial markets on more stable footing. Yields on 30-year UK government bonds, which move opposite prices, have dipped to 4.34% after topping 5% last week. But concerns about the economy are resurfacing in lieu of angst about the country’s financial markets — though on that front, too, uncertainty remains. The specter of additional volatility in financial markets still lingers. And restoring investor confidence in UK assets will be an effort that takes time — especially as questions about Truss’ political future swirl.

☆ British pound and gilts soar after Hunt rolls back tax cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Jeremy Hunt on Friday replaced Kwasi Kwarteng, who Prime Minister Liz Truss sacked following the so-called "mini-budget" on Sept. 23 that sent UK assets sliding. Hunt on Monday announced a series of tax changes that he said would raise 32 billion pounds ($36.19 billion) a year in extra revenues. STERLING: The pound rose against the dollar and the euro, gaining 1.1% and 0.7%, respectively , . So the UK is not the outlier when it comes to its monetary policy and its fiscal policy. STUART COLE, HEAD MACRO ECONOMIST, EQUITI CAPITAL, LONDON:"I think it would be a brave person to be buying sterling quite yet.

☆ Reactions: UK's Truss fires Kwarteng, set to U-turn on tax cuts
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON, Oct 14 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Liz Truss fired her finance minister Kwasi Kwarteng and news reports said she will scrap later on Friday parts of the economic programme of big, unfunded tax cuts that they delivered last month. Consequently, the scope for a rally in gilts (move lower in yields) and sterling would seem to be limited." BENJAMIN NABARRO, ECONOMIST, CITI"The key issue in the near term is the contradiction between monetary and fiscal policy. RACHEL REEVES, OPPOSITION LABOUR PARTY'S FINANCE CHIEF"This humiliating u-turn is necessary - but the real damage has already been done. We may well be through the worst of the volatility but I fear that the UK is nowhere near out of the woods."

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